A 400-year-old oak tree crashed into a home in Brentwood after being uprooted by the wind during Storm Eunice.
Dominic Good, 57, was in the middle of a work conference call at his home on Friday morning (February 18) when he was interrupted by an “almighty crash”.
The father-of-two said his family are “very lucky” that no-one was injured after the huge oak tree crashed through the roof of their detached house in Brentwood.
He told the PA news agency: “A big gust just snapped the base of the massive oak tree in our garden, that is probably around 400 years old.
“The whole tree fell on the north-west corner of the house and the roof took the brunt of it.
“The roof is pretty much destroyed, and my son and my daughter’s bedrooms are completely filled with rubble.”
Brentwood was included in a red weather warning issued by the Met Office for the storm, which saw winds above 70mph in Essex.
Mr Good's wife Emma, his 23-year-old son Sven and his son’s girlfriend Anna Parnanen had all been in different rooms of the house at the time of the incident.
His son also had his Mazda MX5 car “completely crushed” by the branches of the toppled oak.
Mr Good added: “My son was in the room directly below (where the tree hit) so he actually witnessed it.
“He just grabbed his laptop and grabbed the dog and ran out of the room.”
The family had predicted there could be some storm damage from the huge gusts of wind but “never expected” the level of destruction that transpired.
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